Japan's biggest electronics firm, Hitachi, has asked its workers to accept lower wages in return for job security.

The request, which was put forward two days after Hitachi agreed to a 2% annual pay rise for workers, was met with scepticism.

"I feel it does not fit in with normal rules to offer various conditions after [wage] deals are done," health, labour and welfare minister Chikara Sakaguchi said

But Hitachi desperately needs to cut costs.

Last month, the giant warned that its losses for the year to March would reach a record 480bn yen (�2.62bn; $3.73bn) and said it would raise planned job cuts by about 30% to nearly 21,000 workers by June.

From March, its president and board members will see their pay slashed.

Industry crisis

A slump in demand for information technology has caused a crisis for Hitachi and its competitors.

In a bid to fight back, the company has launched a massive restructuring push.

"As part of the efforts, Hitachi... has proposed to the [47,000 strong] labour union cutting wages by an average 5% as a one-year emergency measure," Hitachi said.

The net fall in pay would be smaller since due to the 2% annual rise already agreed.

Wage concerns

If the technology giant manages to push through the cuts, it will be the first time wages at the group have fallen in more than five decades.

This has raised concerns about the earnings for at least 230,000 workers throughout the sector.

The proposal goes one step beyond moves by Hitachi's competitors.

NEC and Matsushita Electric have already vowed to delay promised pay increases.

Toshiba is considering such delays while Fujitsu said it may cut several allowances.